MOB3514 Leading in a Connected World
(Formerly Managing the High-Performing Or ORGANIZATION)
4 General Credits

This course will help you learn how to manage collaboration and networks for organizational performance and personal success. It will focus on ways in which successful leaders think about, analyze, and develop collaboration networks that help drive strategic advantage, innovation, and well-being in organizations. The course will also equip you with a range of network tools and frameworks that not only can make you a more effective leader and team member but give you a competitive advantage in the job market.

In this course we will specifically address:

- STRATEGY: Deriving strategic advantage in a knowledge economy. The ability to innovate and leverage expertise has become central to wealth creation for organizations and entire economies. The first 25% of this course will focus on how leaders can best define and develop networks that drive both organizational and personal success. In addition, we will review practices and unique technologies that high performing organizations employ to better leverage and share employee experience and expertise.

- ORGANIZATION: Attaining critical efficiencies and innovation through networks. In order to develop innovative products and services, leaders need to develop innovative organizations through new and better ways of collaborating. The middle 50% of this course will teach a specific process leaders can use for systematically assessing, improving and supporting collaboration inside organizations (especially in informal networks).

- EXECUTION: Driving performance through team and individual level learning and execution. The bulk of work done in organizations occurs in teams or other collaborative relationships. The last 25% of this class will address unique ways to drive performance through teams by helping them more effectively work through networks. In addition, specific focus will be paid to key things YOU need to think about in managing your own career and networks as you enter the work force.

Prerequisites: FME

STR4572 Management Consulting

(Formerly MOB4572)
4 Advanced Management CreditsElite armies of management consultants are at work advising companies ranging from the Fortune 500 to mid-sized Private Equity portfolio companies across all industries (and government) addressing such topics as market attractiveness, mergers & acquisitions, business strategy, operating and cost efficiencies, information/data management, human performance, and development/coaching of leadership. The over 700,000 firms (globally) that comprise this $250 Billion industry, employing the best students from leading business schools, use proprietary methodologies and tools to deliver real shareholder value to their clients. The objective of this course is to introduce to those students who seek to compete and prosper by addressing exigent business issues-that cannot be solved by leading firms without assistance from credentialed consultants-the skills necessary to be successful in the management consulting industry. This will be accomplished by reviewing the content and process frameworks and methodologies used by leading consulting firms, inculcating the perspective of the client when addressing challenging business issues, and helping students consider some of the career and lifestyle issues inherent in a consulting career. Topics will be introduced in facilitated discussions, in-class exercises, cases, and some selected pre-readings. In addition, there will be a group project-using client materials from a real company with which I was involved prior to coming to Babson-that will replicate a "typical" consulting project.

For more information: http://www.kaltura.com/tiny/tjdwy

Prerequisites or co-requisites: ASM3300

MOB3513 Mentoring for the Entrepreneurial Leader: Catalyzing Your Networks for Career Advancement
2 Advanced Management Elective Credits

Mentoring relationships are critical for career development and success in the 21st century. This course combines theory and practice to raise students' awareness of the value of developmental relationships for career advancement while providing experiential learning opportunities for building a developmental network of coaches, sponsors, and mentors-all of which are essential for career growth in today's complex work environment. Students will apply course concepts through a series of relationship building activities, peer circle and group discussions, peer feedback, and structured reflection exercises.

During this course, students pair with mentors through the Center for Women's Entrepreneurial Leadership Mentor Program*, based on compatibility and their career interests. Students will apply concepts learned in class to manage their mentoring experience and build their developmental relationships. CWEL Mentors are alumni and friends of the Babson community with 3-15 years of professional experience, who are committed to making a difference in the lives of the next generation of leaders. They come from a variety of backgrounds and industries and have their own unique combination of expertise and networks to share.

*STUDENTS OF ALL GENDERS ARE WELCOMED AND ENCOURAGED TO ENROLL IN THIS COURSE

Prerequisites: SME2001 and SME2002

MOB3534 Management Consulting Field Experience
4 General CreditsThe Management Consulting Field Experience (MCFE) course provides an excellent opportunity for students to apply principles that they learn in the classroom to real-world consulting projects. The students gain practical experience by solving actual business situations. Students also develop key skills in negotiation, group dynamics, organization, and planning. Previous projects include financial advisory, corporate finance, investment management, marketing, data analytics, and business strategy. Teams of four to six undergraduate students work as a consulting group for a sponsor company. The students meet with representatives of the company, analyze the problem, and explore possible solutions. The project concludes with a formal report and a presentation to the sponsor company comprising the group's recommendations. This course meets twice per week. During the fall semester class will meet Monday's and Wednesday's from 11:30-1:00 PM, in the spring semester meetings will be scheduled by team and MBA Project Leader at mutually convenient times. For more information: http://www.kaltura.com/tiny/jrbdx

Prerequisites: Minimum GPA of 2.7, 2nd semester Sophomore, Junior or Senior status by the beginning of the project, and Permission of Experiential Learning Programs Associate Director

STR3510 Moonshot Innovations

4 Advanced Management Credits

This course will provide Babson students with a deeper understanding of how a strategic approach to "moonshot" innovations can solve significant societal challenges. We will explore several historical examples, focusing on the original and emergent strategies and technologies, the characteristics of successful teams, and the role of strategic problem solving.

Today's world faces seemingly insurmountable challenges: a global pandemic, rapid climate change, and income inequality at the top of a growing list. Businesses have been faulted for contributing to these challenges, but are also looked upon as strategic partners in finding solutions. Understanding the strategies that organizations and individuals can apply in solving today's "moonshot" challenges requires us to deconstruct the strategic approaches of others who solved the seemingly insurmountable challenges of their day.

This course will examine past moonshots to learn the strategies, innovations, and processes that enable teams to achieve what most thought impossible. We will also look at failed moonshot efforts and explore how businesses and entrepreneurs can avoid their fate as they apply their energy and efforts to address today's challenges.

Prerequisites: None

STR3506 Mysteries, Puzzles and Imagination

(Formerly MOB3506 Mysteries, Puzzles and Wicked Problems)
4 Advanced Management Credits

The course will help you learn how to think insightfully and become a skilled problem solver. Excelling in both is essential for success, no matter what your choice of career. Employers rank critical thinking and problem solving as prized skills that are difficult to find in business school graduates. A rising number of companies look for these skills using case interviews.

We will learn a variety of techniques and approaches to solving strategic, consequential, and wicked problems. Wicked problems are messy, multifaceted, lack sufficient information, and are difficult to solve. It is easy to get them wrong, especially under time pressure. We will approach them as mysteries or puzzles to better solve them. And we will learn how imagination might play a role in solving business problems.

Using various techniques and ways to think, we will learn to frame problems well to make sense of messy, ambiguous situations; identify needed evidence without wasting time on irrelevant information, draw upon different business disciplines but not be limited by any, find the story in numbers, use judgment, be original, and so much more. Throughout the course, I will ask you how you thought and made decisions and how others thought and made decisions. Effective problem solving needs such awareness about oneself and others.

The course uses a workshop format to emphasize in-class exercises and practice. We will minimize using conventional cases (14 pages of text and many more with exhibits). Instead, to simulate case interviews and workplace realities, we will use cryptic cases and live cases.

Few business schools teach problem solving rigorously. Acquiring this skill will differentiate you in the job market, prepare you for doing well in case interviews, and position you for success in your career of choice.

Prerequisites: None

MOB3580 Negotiations
4 General CreditsThis course explores the many ways that individuals think about and practice conflict resolution. Students will have a chance to learn more about their own negotiating preferences and the consequences of the choices they make. The course requires both intensive involvement in negotiation and mediation simulations/exercises and thoughtful application of theory through class discussion and written analysis. Class materials will reflect a variety of contexts from the workplace, including interpersonal, global, and cross-cultural interactions.

Prerequisites: FME1000 and FME1001 or MOB1000 and MOB1010

MOB1010 Organizational Behavior
4 Foundation Management CreditsThe content of MOB1010 is equivalent to the material covered in FME1000 and FME1001. Students who are enrolled in FME therefore cannot enroll in this course.Organizational Behavior is designed to help you improve your effectiveness as an individual contributor, team member, and leader in your current and future work environments. This course centers on developing your critical thinking regarding the complex circumstances that surround why people behave as they do in organizations and on using your knowledge to take more effective action and influence individuals and the wider organization in an ethical manner. Topics we will explore include emotional intelligence, behavioral styles, managing diversity, power and influence, negotiations, and culture. To become an entrepreneurial leader in a start-up venture, an established organization, or a social venture, you need to engage your understanding of organizational behavior.

Prerequisites: None

MOB3585 Racial Identity and Racism at Work: a US Context
4 Advanced Management Credits

This course provides numerous opportunities to explore your personal and social identity. You will delve into materials that expose you to protagonists, contexts and issues from multiple racial and cultural perspectives. Further, you will engage in activities designed to help you become more culturally competent. This is a rare opportunity to learn about racial, ethnic and cultural diversity in connection with gaining great insight into your own identity. The course is designed in three phases; you will: 1) explore race and racism; 2) examine the convergence of life domains and lived racial experiences; and, 3) investigate how race and racism intersect with lived experiences to influence privilege/bias, authenticity and professionalism in the workplace.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

This course facilitates the accomplishment of several learning objectives, by increasing student capacity to:

1. Brainstorm, analyze and communicate key ideas to others, in written and oral formats.

2. Research and voice divergent perspectives on the same issue.

3. Explore personal and social identities, including surfacing possible blind spots and biases, and privileges as it relates to race, ethnicity and culture.

4. Analyze issues you might not often confront given the unique and diverse perspectives represented in the course.

5. Improve writing and public speaking skills while developing a competency to analyze divergent opinions and articulate opinions that are supported by fact.

Keywords: Race, Racism, Diversity, Identity, Intersectionality, Culture, Divergent viewpoints

Prerequisites: FME and FYS

STR3500: Scaling Strategy: Mastering the Four Stages from Idea to $10 Billion

4 advanced management credits

How do the most successful founders transform their idea into a large, fast-growing company? Scaling Strategy answers this question by investigating three fundamental questions:
- What are the stages through which an organization must evolve to turn a new business idea into a fast-growing public company?
- How can leaders capture the opportunities and overcome the challenges at each of these stages?
- How can CEOs assess their ability to lead their organization through the next stage of scaling?

Scaling Strategy explores these questions through a specific scaling framework developed by Professor Cohan and complemented with the work of other experts in the field of scaling strategy. As described below in Appendix A: Core Scaling Concepts, the course presents and applies concepts such as:

- Four stages of scaling - during which leaders seek to achieve different business objectives that are essential to transforming an idea into a large company;
- Seven scaling levers - the management tools that leader use to achieve these objectives; and
- Scaling quotient - a tool for assessing the company's capabilities - both strengths and improvement opportunities - to hurdle the next scaling stage.

For more information please watch this video: https://babson.instructuremedia.com/embed/d2e3ddbb-d69a-4091-b285-1fe25c344a76

Prerequisite: STR3000